We'd just finished cutting the grass and this little fella turns up jumping from stone to stone.....couldn't resist putting out a spring trap and couldn't believe how lucky we were. First of the year for us and he was back within the hour in exactly the same spot.

CES at Llandilo visits 1 to 6

The woodland Constant Effort Site at Llandilo uses five nets in four rides, and being in a woodland where most of the bird activity takes place in the higher canopy, the resultant catches are fairly small, with an average of around 25 captures per five hour session. There is no influx of birds in July such as typically happens in scrub and reed bed habitats, and by late July - mid August (visits 9 to 11) the number of birds at this site is at a seasonal low, as shown in the graph below:

The 12 annual CES sessions are spread evenly between early May and end of August

The first half of 2018 has seen a continued drop in the number of adults following a trend since the CES began in 2015, and perhaps the  arctic conditions in March affected some species, though both wren and long-tailed tit numbers seem typical, and both these species are usually sensitive to cold weather. It's too early to assess the overall number of juveniles, though the impression is that some species have done well, including long-tailed tit and robin, but others have not produced any young at all so far; blackcap and blackbird for example. The dry weather which will have reduced the number of available soil invertebrates is likely to make life difficult for any juvenile blackbirds, but its a puzzle why there are no juvenile blackcaps so far, as invertebrates seem abundant in the canopy and shrub layer. Blue tits fledged broods of up to 10, and certainly were finding it easy to find sufficient invertebrate prey.

2018 has been the best season so far for long-tailed tit, a species which is expected to fare badly after a cold winter

Three years ago, we erected six tawny owl boxes, two on our farm woodland patch and the others on friends' neighbouring farms.
First year 2016 - Blanked!
Second year - a grey squirrel seemed pretty cosy in one of ours but no luck with the others.
Third year......as in, Wednesday earlier this week - Ta-Da! Two lovely tawny owl chicks ringed from one of our boxes and a brood of three ringed from one of our neighbours.

Result!

Had a great Tuesday morning on our Dipper project....ringed 30 pulli and a further 13 still to do - will revisit on Sunday to do these when they've grown a bit!
Hopefully we will have time to monitor second broods although it's an 80 mile round trip to check our 24 nest sites.
The data gathered from our project will complement that gathered by Paddy, Paul W and Karen M from their site monitoring on the Eastern Cleddau and surrounding area.... updates to follow... 

Love Dippers 😊

Woodcock results for 2017/18 winter

By the spring equinox, the vast majority of the wintering woodcock population in Pembs are usually well on their way back to their breeding grounds in northern and eastern Europe, and Russia. They're a bit late leaving this year due to the cold weather in March, and on 19th, counts of birds in six pasture fields were very similar to typical mid-winter counts (30 compared to counts of 34 and 26 in the same fields during December and February). They are often much more difficult to approach in Feb and March than they are earlier in the winter, and only five of the 30 birds were caught, three of  which had been ringed earlier in the winter suggesting that many individuals chose to sit out the bad weather. One bird, at 270g was 55g lighter than average, so had clearly struggled to feed, but three others weighed, 351g, 360g and 361g, and were ready for off.

The counts made during ringing sessions gave an average density of 0.53 birds per hectare, identical to the long-term average. Of the 122 individuals handled, the ratio of ad to 1stW was 41:81, a much higher proportion of 1stW than the long term average of (5:6).

Almost all woodcock caught have muddy bills right to the feathering, though it is very rare to see one feeding, and on nights when it isn't raining the mud dries off by a couple of hours after dark, suggesting that they only feed for a brief period at dusk.

Colour Ringed Knot - Update

During the flurry of Knot sightings in West Wales over the last few weeks, we have received data on the colour ringed Knot on the 7th March at the Gann. It was first ringed in Waddenzee August 2014, resighted by the same ringer at Porsangerfjord Norway during spring migration and recaptured by Pemb's Ringing Group 7th March 2018. A short but interesting life history for a bird that has an average weight of 137g. We still have a lot to learn about migrating Waders that choose to use the Gann as a stop over. The continued resighting of colour ringed Waders by the users of the Pemb's Bird blog is very much appreciated.

The Gann

Interesting evening at the Gann, 8 species of wader recorded mainly Bar-tailed Godwit, also in the mix were Oystercatcher, Redshank, Ruff, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Knot and a single Whimbrel. We have heard a Whimbrel calling on a few occasions since the middle of January and there is a possibility this is the same bird.

The most intriguing bird of the evening was a colour ringed Knot from a ringing scheme in the Netherlands (we are awaiting details).

We had some resightings from the Skomer Wardens today and one Oystercatcher ringed last night was resighted on a Skomer high tide roost this morning. This confirms further, that there is an interaction between the Gann and Skomer. Thanks Ed, Bee, et al.

The Purple Sandpiper ringed back in January may well not be a one-off occurrence, as we had a chat with Derek G in the car park and he showed us a photo he took back in November at the Gann of a Purple Sandpiper.

Ty Rhyg Redpolls

Within Pembrokeshire lesser redpoll is a fairly scarce breeding bird with a restricted distribution centred around Mynydd Preseli in the NE of the county. It breeds in gorse, birch, and willow scrub as well as in conifer plantations, especially in re-planted areas at 5 to 15 years following clear felling. The ringing site at Ty Rhyg ticks this last box, and just over 300 redpolls have been caught and ringed there during the breeding season, May to September, since 2008. By November, they are noticably scarce at the site, and they are usually then absent until April.





Surprisingly for a small species, redpoll has quite a high recapture rate, and there have been seven instances of birds caught by ringers elsewhere:

The only spring recovery is of Y741881 recorded at Bardsey on 23/4/2014. This same individual was also caught again in Cambridgeshire on 19/12/2017, and like the others, shows an easterly bias in period October to February.

Looking back at previous species accounts of redpoll in Pembrokeshire, the breeding status has remained broadly similar since the days of Matthew in 1894, i.e. a scarce breeding species predominantly in the Preseli area. In winter, the picture is less clear and it seems to have been scarce in most years with occasional invasions, such as one in 1990/91 (Donovan and Rees 1994). Some of the Ty rhyg birds were re-caught in gardens, so at least some are making use of garden feeders where they are attracted to nyger seed. The use of gardens by redpolls is a very recent trend, apparently since 2008, (BTO website).

Redwing

The passage of several hundred Redwing through Camrose in the last few weeks has provided a second year of good biometric data. 50/50 - Adults/Juveniles. Give the migrating distances involved, we noted several birds in the 70g bracket, several topping 75g and one at 82.2g, the average weight of a Redwing is 65g. The average wing as per BTO data is 119mm and the majority were just that or 1mm -/+, however, some birds were measuring well into the 120’s with one topping 129mm. A calm early morning seems the ideal time but to find one in November and December is an endeavour, to collect this very ‘time specific’ data.

Preseli RAS and CES

Can't believe that the summer has flown by so fast, with so little time for ringing. Nothing too exciting to report but here's a round up for the Preseli area.

CES
The woodland CES at Llandilo was fairly quiet during the July and August visits when many of the breeding adults and newly fledged young leave the woods and (presumably) head for the hedgerows to feed on fruits and seeds. Any remaining adults are moulting and tend to skulk around without getting caught. In 2017 the number of individuals caught during all 12 visits was 269; this compares to 194 (2016 ) and is almost identical to the the 2015 result of 270. The number of adults this season was down on the previous two years, probably reflecting the two previous fairly poor breeding seasons, especially in 2016. The number of juveniles caught this year was much higher than in either 2015 or 2016, suggesting that this season has been a significantly more productive season (see graph below).

Most of the species caught are common woodland species with the top three being Blackcap (126), Blue Tit (88) and Robin (70) though the red-listed Marsh Tit just about makes it into the top ten with 20 (totals are 2015 - 2017).

RAS
The numbers of adult wheatears returning to breed at the Preseli study plot dropped substantially this year to 43, compared to 61 in 2016. Overwinter adult survival was the lowest recorded at 40% compared to an average of 59% since 2013, and nest success has been negatively affected by bad weather in four seasons of the past six seasons. This year, three broods of up to six nestlings were found dead due to starvation/chilling, so a population bounce-back next year is not predicted, unless breeders are recruited from more productive areas.

The photo below was taken in 2012 following a particularly cold, wet and windy June day. The male was seen entering the nest cavity with food, only to re-emerge with his beak full, looking a bit confused, and when the nest was inspected, all the nestlings were dead and the nest soaking wet. Some of the nest cavities can also act as drainage holes during intense rain, perhaps forcing the brooding female to leave. This season, the three broods found in a similar state were all at the same stage, though well feathered young and nests at the egg stage had fared better.

Unfeathered wheatear nestlings are very vulnerable during cold, wet weather

Reading the colour combinations is always a bit of a challenge and you can be sure a bird is colour-ringed by the way it hides its legs from view just as you take the photo...

Swallows in the roost

The last two weeks have seen a rapid increase in the number of swallows going to roost in Winterton Marsh from just 30 birds at the start of the month to around 300 in the last few days.  We try to catch in roughly ten day periods to September when the roost finally disperses and on 12th we caught 65 new birds, all except one were juveniles and many just fledged.
Additional birds ringed were Sedge and Reed Warblers, Whitethroat, Sand Martin and Pied Wagtail and we controlled a heavily in moult blue tit ringed in March nearby.

In the last week we also managed a small catch of Strom Petrels - just 29 new birds and a control.

CES update

With the first four CES visits at Llandilo out of the way, we now have an indication of how some of the common bird species are faring compare to the previous two seasons. Catch sizes at this site are typically fairly small, with an overall average of 25 birds per session (ranging from a high of 40 down to a very desperate 9 in August 2015). The earlier visits tend to be very slightly busier with an average of 27 birds during the first four sessions and this year is identical to the average for the period. However, its not as run-of-the-mill as it first appears, and there has been a 20% decline in overall adult abundance with the difference made up by more early juveniles than usual. In particular, the number of juvenile robins is already equal to the entire year's worth of the past two seasons, which have both been pretty rubbish in terms of productivity. As an indication of how bad a season 2016 was, only 2 juvenile blue tits were ringed all season! Whilst some ringers might celebrate that (blue tits can be vicious), it hopefully will be a more productive season in 2017 for juveniles, and who knows?, we may even break the record catch of 40.

Even though catches are small, they often result in something a bit interesting being caught, and they are an ideal pace for trainee ringers.

Adult male redstart from CES 2

Spotted flycatcher

Juvenile long-tailed tit

A big surprise was this juvenile dipper caught during CES visit 4. It was unusual in that it was caught away from a stream, flying through woodland, and also in that it was already ringed elsewhere. It turned out to be one of Karen's from Teifi RG and it was ringed as a nestling in April in the Gwaun valley. Although only 10 km away in a direct line, it had clearly jumped catchments, probably crossing the Preseli hills. By coincidence, Karen was also helping out with the session, so she got a chance to catch up with it.

Pembrokeshire Ringing Group are Chough-ed!

Splendid news that a Chough that was colour ringed on the 20^th May 2001 at Porthtaflod Pembrokeshire is resighted on the 5^th April 2017 approximately 247 km away by the Calf of Man BO. A time lapse of 5799 days and if you don’t have a calculator to hand, that is 15 years 10 months 16 days. We believe older Chough’s are around but this movement is a bit special for Pembrokeshire.

Pemb's Ringing Group.

Another Whimbrel in West Africa

This years efforts to colour-ring whimbrel at the Gann have been thwarted by either high winds, high tides or other commitments getting in the way and despite good numbers of birds moving through, only two have been ringed. So it was timely that news has just arrived that C96, ringed on 5th May 2013, had been seen in Guinea-Bissau in January this year. This follows a resighting of C52 that was ringed on 14th September 2013 and photographed in Gambia in November, 2016. Both these records are within the main wintering area of British-ringed whimbrel, though the Gambian bird appears to be the first ringing recovery in that country.

Colour ringed Black-tailed Godwit on Skokholm

A colour ringed Black-tailed Godwit found here on 20th April had been seen on the coast to the west of Nantes, France the day before! Having been ringed as a chick in south Iceland in July 2013, this bird was subsequently seen on the Dee in October 2013, at Leighton Moss in July 2014 and April 2015, Cley in October and September 2015, Leighton Moss again in April 2016 and north Germany in August, September and October 2016.

Satellite tagged Greenland Whitefronted Geese on the way back to Greenland.

It was a real privilege for Theresa and I to assist the team with the field work which satellite tagged the Greenland Whitefronted Geese on the Dyfi back in December 2016. A once in a life time experience as BTO ringers, given their rarity wintering in Wales.

Working as part of the GWfG Partnership with funding from the Welsh Government, a greater understanding of the GWfG whilst wintering in Wales can now be achieved, a historic moment in this conservation project. Many thanks to Carl Mitchell, Mick Green and Steve Dodd for sharing their expert knowledge and experience.

Click on the link to read more and monitor the Greenland Whitefronted Geese progress. http://telemetry.wikispaces.com/Greenfront_Wales

Michael & Theresa

Wheatear colour ringing on Skokholm

Today saw the start of a new project on Skokholm, a repeat of the work carried out here by Peter Conder from 1948 and which formed the basis of his monograph on this species. Island regular Ian Beggs is leading the project. Having arrived on the Island this morning, he had already ringed the Sugarloaf pair by this afternoon - only another 19 or so pairs to go. Although we are targeting Skokholm breeders (which are perhaps unlikely to be seen elsewhere in Pembrokeshire), we are also ringing Skokholm youngsters which perhaps will be seen elsewhere, particularly in future years. If you see a green ring inscribed in white then it is a Skokholm bird and the white three digit code will tell us who it is (you will probably need a telescope or a good camera to make out the code).

First Chiffchaff 2017

A sneaky hour with a couple of nets this morning before the wind increased and that orange disc rose too high in the sky and illuminated everything. First bird out was our earliest Chiffchaff, 12 days earlier than last year. Other notables within the hour were Blackcap, Long-tailed Tit and a Goldcrest which we first ringed on the 9th June 2016. Spring may be here but it's a bit sporadic!

Michael & Theresa

Colour Ringed Oystercatchers

Since Autumn 2015, all oystercatchers caught in Pembrokeshire have been colour-ringed. Most of the 38 that have been ringed so far have been caught at the Gann, with six ringed on Skokholm and one at Sandy Haven. Of these, 17 have been subsequently seen again involving 44 resightings in total. The commonest scenario by far is to see birds back at the same site as they were ringed, though there is clearly a link between The Gann and Skomer/Skokholm with six individuals moving between these sites. So far only two have been recorded outside of Pembrokeshire "A1" and "04";

"A1" was ringed at The Gann on 14/03/2016 and was seen on Tiree on 13/03/2017.

"04" was ringed at The Gann on 16/10/2015 and spent the summer at Stranraer, before returning to the Gann on 11/08/2016.

"A4" was also ringed at the Gann on 14/03/2016, and was seen on Skomer on 21/07/2016 and again there on 16/03/2017.

Oystercatcher resightings from birds ringed at the Gann

There's a lot to be discovered about this declining species, and any resightings will be very gratefully received (see contact form in the side bar). The Pembrokeshire scheme has a plain orange ring over the metal on the left tarsus and an inscribed orange ring with black digits/letters reading upwards on the right tarsus, as shown below.

A0 about to be released

An Average Winter for Woodcock

Maybe it's part of getting old, but its puzzling why there is a tendency to feel that previous years were somehow better in some way, with either endless sunshine or, in the case of bird ringing, hundreds of birds, all of which were easy to catch. When asked how the season had gone for woodcock this winter, I have said on a few occasions "not very good". To be fair, there were a few nights in January which were very unproductive, resulting in only six birds ringed from five nights' effort, and this experience must have negatively influenced morale, giving a feeling of gloom. The winter of 2016/2017 is now almost at an end in terms of available lamping sessions, because most of the woodcock will have started to move back east before the next period of dark evenings from 16^th March, so lets see how bad it really was.

Well, in terms of ringing totals from the central part of Pembrokeshire, this winter has been slightly above average for woodcock, but for all other species that roost in pasture at night, the totals are lower than usual, though most are typically only found in small numbers anyway - see table below. The exception is snipe which is often seen in good numbers but is very difficult to catch.

Total Individuals caught 2016/2017 Average for winters 2008/09 to 2015/16 Fieldfare 1 5 Golden Plover 3 6 Jack Snipe 1 1 Meadow Pipit 5 10 Redwing 2 4 Skylark 2 6 Snipe 4 7 Woodcock 101 89 Total 119 128

During ringing visits counts are also made of all woodcock seen, regardless of whether they are ringed or not and this enables a more reliable comparison of the encounter rate, which is perhaps a better indicator of actual numbers because catch rate varies enormously with weather conditions and the brightness of the sky. In Pembrokeshire catching is often best when there is at least some wind, under thick, low cloud or (surprisingly) no cloud at all when every star is visible. High or scattered cloud makes a bright sky due to light pollution, especially on the horizon, and in such conditions, woodcock often fly before close approach can be made. Having said that, the average encounter rate based on 161 field visits was 0.55 per hectare, 10% above the combined average for previous winters since 2008/09 (0.50), so in this case the slightly higher field counts agree almost perfectly with slightly higher ringing totals. Not so gloomy after all!

Woodcock roosting in pasture. Photo: Myles Jenks